I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes

An epic-sized thriller; 912 pages; Published by Corgi - 08/05/14; Dimensions: 18.8 x 12.7 x 5.4 cm

A whopper of a book which I am still unsure about. I had high hopes for this. This has been on my to be read pile for many years. I was pushed to get it read as just before Yule there was a lot of coverage on the socials and then in the bookshops for Terry Hayes’ sequel, The Year Of The Locust, which I received at Yule, so I thought I best get my skates on! I found it got off to a good start and I was engaged.

I did struggle at times though, there were a few bits I found faster pace and I had to read on. Sadly, at other times I was bored.  Unfortunately for me I felt it was far too long. I think this could have easily of been two parts.

The author has certainly done their research and does come across as knowledgeable in their fields of expertise. I have since discovered this book is rather like marmite and noticed various reviews a lot of people give just one star or five with not much in between.

In keeping with myself being slightly different I do sit firmly in the middle of this one. As mentioned, there were some chapters I found exciting and I was really engaged him. This is another book that really my favourite part is the cover and the title both seem intriguing, and I like with a thumbprint. I had worked out correctly the meaning of the title before reading. The thumbprint reminds me of a maze which is kind of what the plot is like.

I happened to have two paperback copies of this book, first one in the more common black cover of the gold thumbprint and the other, the white cover with the gold thumbprint. Of course, the feel of this book it is naturally on the heavier side and reminds me with old-fashioned yellow pages so it’s quite a doorstop at nearly 1000 pages.

I’m not one to be put off a big chunky book as often they flow faster and offer read quicker then say some small novellas.  Pages are soft and the text is pretty central we have full on pages of print, but chapter ends leave some space and blank pages between so it’s not too daunting having said this it would be quite a marathon if you have had a break from reading.

I will get to The Year Of The Locust but sadly now not in a rush to read.